Attachment for a cleaning appliance

ABSTRACT

An attachment for a cleaning appliance includes a head including a suction opening and a neck including an intermediate portion and an end portion for connection to the mouth of a wand or hose having a longitudinal axis. The attachment also includes a first rotatable connection located between the end portion and the intermediate portion having a first axis of rotation and a second rotatable connection located between the head and the intermediate portion having a second axis of rotation. Each rotatable connection allows relative movement of the end portion with respect to the head. The first axis of rotation is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the end portion. By providing such an attachment for a cleaning appliance, the head of the attachment can be moved into a variety of useful positions to allow easier cleaning of walls and high-level horizontal surfaces.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 ofInternational Application No. PCT/GB2007/000730, filed Mar. 1, 2007,which claims the priority of United Kingdom Application No. 0604654.4,filed Mar. 8, 2006, the contents of both of which prior applications areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an attachment for a cleaning applianceparticularly, but not exclusively, for a vacuum cleaner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Attachments for vacuum cleaners are well known in the art. Vacuumcleaners are frequently sold with a range of attachments for differentcleaning purposes. These attachments are usually fitted onto the end ofa wand or hose of an upright or cylinder vacuum cleaner. For example, avacuum cleaner may be provided with a brush tool for dusting surfaces, astair tool for cleaning stairs, and a crevice tool for cleaninghard-to-reach areas which are difficult to access with largerattachments.

In order to clean effectively, it is important that a suction opening ofan attachment is close to, or in contact with, a surface to be cleaned.Preferably, the whole of the suction opening should be in closeproximity to the surface to be cleaned. If there is too great an air gapbetween the suction opening of the attachment and the surface to becleaned, the air gap will act as an air bleed and less of the airentering the suction opening will have passed across or through thesurface to be cleaned. Therefore, less dirt and dust will be picked upand the cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner will be reduced.

In order to achieve sufficient proximity between the suction opening ofan attachment and the surface to be cleaned, the wand or hose of thevacuum cleaner to which the attachment is connected must often be heldat a particular angle. Therefore, there may be some surfaces which areorientated or positioned such that they either cannot be cleanedeffectively or can only be cleaned with great difficulty using aconventional attachment. This is because the user may not be able tohold the wand or hose at the required angle in order to clean thesesurfaces. For example, the tops of doors, shelves or cabinets areparticularly problematic due to their location at a high level relativeto the user.

In order to reduce this problem, an attachment for a vacuum cleaner suchas a stair tool or a brush tool is often provided with a rotatableconnection located between the head of the tool and the connection partof the tool (which connects to the mouth of a wand or hose). Therotatable connection may be angled relative to the head or theconnection part such that different angular orientations of the headwith respect to the wand or hose can be achieved. This allows a user toclean more easily surfaces orientated or positioned awkwardly.

However, whilst an improvement on an attachment without a rotatableconnection, a disadvantage of the above type of attachment is that asingle rotatable connection only allows a limited range of angularpositions of the head of the attachment relative to the wand or hose. Inparticular, it is difficult to clean surfaces at a high level (forexample the tops of shelving units, cupboards or light fittings) withthis type of attachment. This is because the limited range of movementof the head of the attachment will mean that the wand or hose of theappliance must be held at an awkward angle in order to cleaneffectively. This is undesirable because it may be uncomfortable for auser to hold, or may result in some surfaces being impossible to clean.

Attachments for vacuum cleaners having two rotatable connections areknown from U.S. Pat. No. 1,658,311 and JP 2003-000483. U.S. Pat. No.1,658,311 discloses a vacuum cleaner attachment which comprises twoperpendicular elbow joints connected by a plurality of coupling nuts.

The coupling nuts allow relative rotation between the elbow joints. Thispermits the nozzle of the attachment to be moved into different angulararrangements relative to a handle member. JP 2003-000483 discloses avacuum cleaner attachment which comprises a square nozzle and a rearpipe which are connected together by a movable joint. The jointcomprises a pair of parallel pivotable connections. The pivotableconnections pivot the square nozzle up and down relative to theconnecting portion.

However, the rotatable connections or pivots of the above-describedattachments only allow movement of the respective nozzles in planesperpendicular to or parallel to the handle member or rear pipe of therespective attachments. This limits the range of potential orientationsof the nozzle with respect to the handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for acleaning appliance which allows the suction opening to be orientatedwith greater flexibility relative to the wand or hose than has beenprovided by the prior art. It is a further object to provide anattachment which is capable of cleaning a range of surfaces, inparticular walls and high-level surfaces, with greater convenience forthe user.

The invention provides an attachment for a cleaning appliance comprisinga head and a neck, the head including a suction opening that lies in asuction plane, the neck including an intermediate portion and an endportion for connection to the mouth of a wand or hose, the end portionhaving a longitudinal axis, the attachment further comprising a firstrotatable connection located between the end portion and theintermediate portion having a first axis of rotation, and a secondrotatable connection located between the head and the intermediateportion having a second axis of rotation, each rotatable connectionallowing relative movement of the end portion with respect to the head,wherein the first axis of rotation is inclined with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the end portion, and the second axis of rotation isinclined with respect to the suction plane.

By providing an attachment for a cleaning appliance which has a firstrotatable connection having an axis of rotation which is inclined withrespect the longitudinal axis of the end portion, the head of theattachment can be moved into a variety of useful positions to alloweasier cleaning of walls and high-level horizontal surfaces.

By having the second axis of rotation inclined with respect to thesuction plane, the head may be positioned in a wide range of angularorientations relative to the wand or hose such that a user can selectthe most appropriate orientation for the cleaning task in hand.

Preferably, the second axis of rotation is inclined to the suction planeat an angle in the range of 20° to 70°.

It has been shown by empirical analysis that the above ranges of anglesproduce the most useful range of positions of the head of theattachment. The criteria used to assess the usefulness of each angularorientation include the physical structure of the attachment, the easeof use of the resultant positions of the head and the useful differencein orientation between each resultant position of the head.

Preferably, the first axis of rotation is at an angle to the second axisof rotation. This permits an even greater range of movement of the headwith respect to the end portion. More preferably, the first axis ofrotation is at an angle in the range of 80° to 1300 to the second axisof rotation. This range of angles has been shown by empirical analysisto produce the most useful range of positions of the head of theattachment whilst still allowing a compact, easy to manufactureattachment.

Preferably, the sum of the angle between the first axis of rotation andthe longitudinal axis and the angle between the second axis of rotationand the suction plane is in the range of 40° to 130°. This combinationof angles produces the most useful range of positions of the head of theattachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an attachment according to a firstembodiment of the present invention showing the attachment in a firstconfiguration;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section through the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the attachment of FIG. 1 showing theattachment in a second configuration;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the attachment of FIG. 1 showing the attachmentin the second configuration;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the attachment of FIG. 1 showing theattachment in a third configuration;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the attachment of FIG. 1 showing the attachmentin the third configuration;

FIG. 8 is a side view of an attachment according to a second embodimentof the invention showing the attachment in the first configuration; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the attachment of FIG. 8 showing theattachment in a fourth configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Referringfirstly to FIGS. 1 to 3, the attachment 10 comprises a neck 11 and ahead 12. The neck 11 includes a curved intermediate portion 14 and anend portion 16.

The end portion 16 has a cylindrical part 17 which is dimensioned toconnect to a mouth of a wand or hose (not shown) of a vacuum cleaner.The end portion 16 has an axis X-X (FIG. 3) which lies coaxially withthe cylindrical part 17. Two diametrically opposed apertures 16 a areformed in the cylindrical part 17. The apertures 16 a are dimensioned toreceive lugs located on an outer wall of the wand or hose (not shown).This allows the attachment 10 to be attached to the wand or hose in asnap-fit fashion.

The end portion 16 is connected to the intermediate portion 14 through afirst rotatable connection 18. The first rotatable connection 18comprises a first connector 18 a formed on the end portion 16 and asecond connector 18 b formed on the intermediate portion 14. The secondconnector 18 b is located radially inwardly of, and in contact with, thefirst connector 18 a. The internal surface of the second connector 18 bis smoothly shaped to allow air to flow freely through the interior ofthe attachment 10. The distal end of the first connector 18 a abuts anannular projection 18 c. The annular projection 18 c extends radiallyoutwardly from the intermediate portion 14 at the proximal end of thesecond connector 18 b. A metallic clip 18 d is located in a groove inthe second connector 18 b and holds the first and second connectors 18a, 18 b together whilst allowing relative rotation therebetween.

The first rotatable connection 18 has a first axis of rotation X′-X′. Bythis we mean that the first and second connectors 18 a, 18 b are able torotate relative to one another about the first axis of rotation X′-X′.When the first and second connectors 18 a, 18 b are rotated relative toone another, the intermediate portion 14 is rotated relative to the endportion 16 about the first axis X′-X′. The first axis of rotation X′-X′is inclined to the axis X-X of the end portion 16 at an angle α. In thisembodiment, α is 22.5°.

The first rotatable connection 18 has a first engaging means. The firstengaging means allows the first connector 18 a to be held in a series ofdiscrete angular orientations relative to the second connector 18 b. Thefirst engaging means comprises a lug 18 e attached to the secondconnector 18 b and a plurality of recesses 18 f formed in the firstconnector 18 a. In this embodiment, four recesses 18 f are provided. Therecesses 18 f are equispaced about the axis of rotation X′-X′ of thefirst rotatable connection 18. Therefore, the recesses 18 f have anangular separation of 90° to one another. The lug 18 e is capable ofengaging with each recess 18 f to hold the first and second connectors18 a, 18 b in position relative to one another.

The head 12 of the attachment 10 has an upper surface 12 a and a planarlower surface 12 b. Two suction openings 20 a, 20 b are formed in theplanar lower surface 12 b. The suction openings 20 a, 20 b lie in acommon suction plane Y-Y. By this we mean that the planar lower surface12 b lies in the suction plane Y-Y and the suction openings 20 a, 20 bare formed in the planar lower surface 12 b. A lint picker 22 is locatedon the planar lower surface 12 b. A curtain of bristles 24 projects froma rim 12 c of the lower surface 12 b and surrounds the suction openings20 a, 20 b.

A second rotatable connection 26 connects the head 12 to theintermediate portion 14. The second rotatable connection 26 is similarin construction to the first rotatable connection 18. The secondrotatable connection 26 comprises a third connector 26 a located on theproximal end of the head 12 and a fourth connector 26 b located on theintermediate portion 14. The third connector 26 a is located radiallyoutwardly of, and in contact with, the fourth connector 26 b. The end ofthe third connector 26 a abuts an annular projection 26 c which extendsradially outwardly from the intermediate portion 14 at the proximal endof the fourth connector 26 b. A metallic clip 26 d is located in agroove in the fourth connector 26 b and holds the third and fourthconnectors 26 a, 26 b together whilst allowing relative rotationtherebetween.

The second rotatable connection 26 has a second axis of rotation Y′-Y′.By this we mean that the third and fourth connectors 26 a, 26 b are ableto rotate relative to one another about the second axis of rotationY′-Y′. When the third and fourth connectors 26 a, 26 b are rotatedrelative to one another, the head 12 is rotated relative to theintermediate portion 14 about the second axis Y′-Y′. The second axis ofrotation Y′-Y′ is inclined to the suction plane Y-Y of the end portion16 at an angle β. In this embodiment, P is 37.5°.

The second rotatable connection 26 has a second engaging means. Thesecond engaging means allows the third connector 26 a to be held in aseries of discrete angular orientations relative to the fourth connector26 b. The second engaging means comprises a lug 26 e attached to thefourth connector 26 b and a plurality of recesses 26 f formed in thethird connector 26 a. In this embodiment, four recesses 26 f areprovided. The recesses 26 f are equispaced about the axis of rotationY′-Y′ of the first rotatable connection 26. Therefore, the recesses 26 fhave an angular separation of 90° to one another. The lug 26 e iscapable of engaging with each recess 26 f to hold the third and fourthconnectors 26 a, 26 b in position relative to one another.

The intermediate portion 14 is curved such that the first and secondaxes of rotation X′-X′, Y′-Y′ lie at an angle to one another. By this wemean that the first axis of rotation X′-X′ lies at an angle γ to thesecond axis of rotation Y′-Y′. In addition, both axes X′-X′, Y′-Y′ liein a common plane. In this embodiment, γ is 120°.

In use, the attachment 10 can be connected to a wand or hose of a vacuumcleaner or other cleaning appliance (not shown). This is done byinserting the mouth of the wand or hose into the end portion 16. Lugs(not shown) located on the mouth of the wand or hose engage with theapertures 16 a to prevent the attachment 10 from becoming detached whenin use.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show the attachment 10 in a first configuration. Thisconfiguration is useful to clean, for example, the tops of doors andalso allows the attachment 10 to be stored in a compact manner. In thefirst configuration, each of the first and second rotatable connections18, 26 are in a first position.

However, the first and second rotatable connections 18, 26 can be movedinto a variety of positions to allow the user to clean a range ofsurfaces. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the attachment 10 in a secondconfiguration. In the second configuration, the first rotatableconnection 18 is in a second position and the second rotatableconnection 26 is in the first position. Starting from the firstposition, in order to reach the second position the first connector 18 amust be rotated through an angle of 180° relative to the secondconnector 18 b. To select this position, the user grasps the attachmentand twists the intermediate portion 14 relative to the end portion 16.When the applied twisting force is sufficient to disengage the lug 18 efrom the respective recess 18 f, the intermediate portion 14 can berotated with respect to the end portion 16 about the axis X′-X′. The lug18 e can then be rotated through 90° to reach the next recess 18 f. Thisprocess can be repeated to rotate the lug 18 e through another 90° toengage with a recess 18 f which is diametrically opposed to the startingrecess 18 f. The attachment 10 is now in the second configuration. Inthis configuration, a user can clean easily the tops of cabinets andhigh shelves.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the attachment 10 in a third configuration. In thisconfiguration, both of the first and second rotatable connections 18, 26are in the second position (i.e. rotated through 180° with respect tothe first position). When the attachment 10 is in the thirdconfiguration, a user is able to clean easily vertical or near verticalsurfaces such as blinds and walls.

Positions intermediate to the first and second positions can also beselected. These additional positions allow the head to be angledsideways in addition to vertically up/down relative to the axis of thewand or hose. This allows a user to clean awkward areas such as thecorners of a room or a cabinet.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Theattachment 100 is similar in construction to the attachment 10 of thefirst embodiment. The attachment 100 comprises a neck 111 and a head112. The neck includes a curved intermediate portion 114 and an endportion 116. The end portion 116 includes a cylindrical part 117 forattachment to a wand or hose of a vacuum cleaner or other cleaningdevice.

The attachment has a first rotatable connection 118. The first rotatableconnection 118 has a first axis of rotation X″-X″ which is inclined withrespect to an axis X-X of the end portion 116 which lies coaxially withthe cylindrical part 117. In this embodiment, the angle α′ between thefirst axis of rotation X″-X″ and the axis X-X of the end portion 116 is50°.

In this embodiment, the head 112 takes the form of a crevice tool.Expressed another way, the head 112 comprises an elongate, taperedmember 112 a. A suction opening 112 b is formed at the distal end of thehead 112. The suction opening 112 b lies in a suction plane Y-Y.

The head 112 is attached to the intermediate portion 114 by a secondrotatable connection 126. The second rotatable connection 126 is similarto the second rotatable connection 26 of the first embodiment. Thesecond rotatable connection 126 has a second axis of rotation Y″-Y″which is inclined with respect to the suction plane Y-Y. The angle β′between the second axis of rotation Y′-Y′ and the suction plane Y-Y inthis embodiment is 60°.

The intermediate portion 114 connects the first and second connectors118, 126. In this embodiment, the angle γ′ between the first axis ofrotation X″-X″ and the second axis of rotation Y″-Y″ is 90°.

In use, the attachment 100 can be connected to a wand or hose (notshown) to be used in a similar manner to the attachment 10 of the firstembodiment. However, the combinations of the angles α′, β′ and γ′ inthis embodiment allow different positions of the head 112 relative theaxis of the wand or hose. FIG. 9 shows the attachment 100 in a fourthconfiguration. In the fourth configuration, both of the first and secondrotatable connections are in positions intermediate to the first andsecond positions as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 7 of the first embodiment.This position allows the head 112 of the attachment 100 to be insertedinto difficult to reach areas that are orientated and positionedawkwardly. Further, the provision of the head 112 which comprises acrevice tool allows the cleaning of surfaces that are difficult to reachwith a brush-type head; for example, confined spaces such as the footwell of a motor vehicle.

Variations will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. Forexample, more than two rotatable connections may be provided. All thatis required is that at least two rotatable connections are provided andthat one of the rotatable connections must have an axis of rotation thatis inclined with respect to the axis of the end portion of theattachment.

Further, the two rotatable connections do not need to be similar andcould involve different types of connection such as pivots or gimbals.

Additionally, any number of suction openings can be provided. If morethan one suction opening is provided, they do not need to lie all in thesame plane.

The head of the attachment need not comprise a brush head or a crevicetool and instead may take any suitable form. For example, it maycomprise a stair tool, a comb or other grooming implement.

The angles α, α′, β and β′ do not have to take the values described inthe embodiments and can be varied independently according to theparticular design requirements of the attachment. It is only requiredthat α, α′, β and β′ take values which are not 0°, 90°, 180° or 270°.Additionally, the angles γ and γ′ do not need to be 90° or 120° and maytake any reasonable value.

The attachment may also be used in a variety of cleaning appliances, forexample carpet sweepers, vacuum cleaners, industrial suction devices ortank vacuums. If the attachment is to be used with a domestic vacuumcleaner, any suitable type of vacuum cleaner may be used, for exampleupright vacuum cleaners, cylinder vacuum cleaners, stick-vacuum typemachines or hand-held spot cleaners.

1. An attachment for a cleaning appliance comprising a head and a neck,the head including a suction opening that lies in a suction plane, theneck including an intermediate portion and an end portion for connectionto the mouth of a wand or hose, the end portion having a longitudinalaxis, the attachment further comprising a first rotatable connectionlocated between the end portion and the intermediate portion having afirst axis of rotation, and a second rotatable connection locatedbetween the head and the intermediate portion having a second axis ofrotation, each rotatable connection allowing relative movement of theend portion with respect to the head, wherein the first axis of rotationis inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the end portion,and the second axis of rotation is inclined with respect to the suctionplane.
 2. An attachment according to claim 1, wherein the first axis ofrotation is inclined to the longitudinal axis of the end portion at anangle in the range of 20° to 60°.
 3. An attachment according to claim 1or 2, wherein the second axis of rotation is inclined to the suctionplane at an angle in the range of 20° to 70°.
 4. An attachment accordingto claim 1 or 2, wherein the first axis of rotation is at an angle tothe second axis of rotation.
 5. An attachment according to claim 4,wherein the first axis of rotation is at an angle to the second axis ofrotation in the range of 80° to 130°.
 6. An attachment according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second axes of rotation lie in acommon plane.
 7. An attachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein thesum of the angle between the first axis of rotation and the longitudinalaxis and the angle between the second axis of rotation and the suctionplane is in the range of 40° to 130°.
 8. An attachment according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein the intermediate portion is curved.
 9. Anattachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first rotatableconnection comprises a first engaging device for holding the firstrotatable connection in at least one discrete angular orientation. 10.An attachment according to claim 9, wherein the first engaging device isadapted to hold the first rotatable connection in one of four discreteangular orientations.
 11. An attachment according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the second rotatable connection comprises a second engagingdevice for holding the rotatable connections in at least one discreteangular orientation.
 12. An attachment according to claim 11, whereinthe second engaging means are adapted to hold the second rotatableconnection in one of four discrete angular orientations.
 13. (canceled)14. A vacuum cleaner comprising the attachment according to claim 1 or2.